Author: AaronTiffany

This post was originally viewed in the local newspaper, The Lovington Leader.

People go hungry every day. Hunger looks different depending on where you are in the world. In some countries young children die because of a lack of food. In America, death isn’t so likely, but hunger and a lack of nutrition is a real issue. In a town like Lovington, where the oilfield is the driving force of the economy, the needs for food assistance can be really high and really low. Today, we are seeing the effects of a down oilfield economy. Many people have lost their jobs. Many people have had their pay cut tremendously. Because of this many people are trying to figure out how to pay for food and where their next meal is coming from.

The Lovington Food Coalition has seen this first hand and exists to fight hunger in Lovington. Our food pantry located on Ave B across from the Lovington Leader is serving 50 families on average every week. We are constantly ordering more food and stocking shelves. We have an awesome group of volunteers led by Lauren Flemmons. Together they volunteer many hours each week to serve those in need. Food can be donated at Bob’s Thriftway or you can donate food directly into the food pantry. We have a dropbox in the window left of the door.

A huge part of the Lovington Food Coalition is our Back Snack Program. We work in partnership with the Lovington School District to recognize students who are going home to empty cupboards and fridges. Last year we served 120 students providing food for them to take home over the weekend. Rhonda Phillips the director of the Back Snack Program is already communicating with the school social workers to recognize students in need. We anticipate even more children in the Back Snack Program this year.

We’re always looking for more volunteers to help fill bags and deliver them to the schools. Rhonda and her team serve in this way every Thursday morning at the food pantry. One great way to get involved is to simply donate. We have calculated that it takes $200 per child for the entire school year! This is a great way to care for the children in our community and be a part of feeding our kids. Be on the lookout for a food drive happening at Bob’s Thriftway during the first couple weeks of September. You can choose from a $10 bag or a $20 bag. Your participation is greatly appreciated.

The mission of the Lovington Food Coalition is simple: To Feed Hungry People in Lovington. If you would like to learn more about us and see how you can get involved you can check out our Facebook Page where we post pictures and videos of what’s happening. You can call pastor Aaron Tiffany (President) @ 575.396.4285. You can also send checks to P.O. Box 726, Lovington, NM 88260. All donations are tax deductible. The Lovington Food Coalition is a 501c3 Non-Profit organization.

We would like to thank Devon Energy (pictured below) for generously donating $15,000 for the third year in a row! Devon Energy, a Fortune 500 Company, is based out of Oklahoma City, OK and operates locally in the “Delaware Basin”. You can learn more about them at devonenergy.com.

We would also like to thank the generous donation of $7,000 from the women’s CREATE Conference put on by Cowboy Junction Church earlier this summer. Their donation will go directly to the Back Snack Program which will feed 35 children for an entire school year!

In the Church of the Nazarene, we practice open communion. We participate in the Lord’s Supper/Eucharist once a month during ordinary time and each week during Advent and Lent. Communion is a sacrament. It is a a sign of God’s grace in our lives. And this grace is offered to all and we remind our church that all are invited to participate in this sacramental meal. When we eat the bread and drink from the cup, we are remembering Jesus’ broken body and spilled blood on the cross. But we are also re-membering ourselves as the body of Christ. It is a beautiful thing when we stop and reflect on the mystery of Christ’s presence among us in the elements but also among the people who are participating in the suffering of Christ as we await our participation in Christ’s resurrection.

During Lent of this past year we started bringing our littlest worshippers back in the sanctuary with us so they too can participate in God’s grace and presence of Christ.

Some might say, “but they don’t know what they are doing.” “They shouldn’t participate without first confessing Jesus as Lord and Savior.” “What about Paul’s instructions on receiving it in an unworthy manner?” (that’s for another post and a better understanding of the context happening in Corinth)

I grew up rarely participating in communion. We would do it once a quarter and the thinking was that if we did it too often it would become rote and lose its meaning. Really? The meal that Christ ordained and commanded the first Christians to do become a dead ritual? If you think about it, that’s the most ridiculous excuse. We could say the same thing for singing or dare I say preaching! I also grew up visiting my grandparents Lutheran church and they would participate in communion every week. It was a beautiful part of the service, but it was closed for only Lutheran members. I never understood this either. I always wanted to sneak into the line going up to receive the bread and wine, but never got enough courage and thought I would get into a lot of trouble from my family.

Now that I’m the lead pastor of a church in the Wesleyan tradition, I want to invite everyone to the table. John Wesley believed we should receive communion constantly. He himself participated in communion multiple times a week. God’s grace is sufficient for all. None of us are really ever worthy enough. I want to be a church that says all are welcome. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are. It doesn’t matter what you’ve done in the past or where you are in your journey. When we come forward and hear the words, “the body of Christ broken for YOU, the blood of Christ shed for YOU” we are invited into the mystery of Christ’s sacrifice for us.

I love seeing our group of little toddlers learning the practices of the church and even though they don’t really understand what they’re doing, it’s a beautiful sign of God’s grace for all of us!

This Sunday, I am beginning a new series on the book of Philippians. This is a letter that is many people’s favorite. It’s a letter of thanksgiving from Paul, who at the time of writing it was in a Roman prison. And he was full of joy. Why? It doesn’t really make sense. Yet Paul, as he sat there in chains, reflects back on his time with his friends from Philippi and begins to write a letter thanking them for their participation in the Gospel! This is the whole point. Paul, once a murderer of Christians, experiences the risen Christ in the most real way and his life forever changed. He goes on to be the greatest missionary/church planter the church has ever known. And most of the New Testament is written by Paul.

As I think about what God is trying to say to me through this letter, I can’t help but think about and reflect back on the people that have partnered with me and given me incredible gifts as a way of advancing the Gospel. I’ll be sharing this Sunday a special story with one of the most generous people I’ve ever known and how he truly partnered with me (from afar) in sharing the good news of Jesus with the people in Lovington, NM. I can’t wait to share this story and I hope that others will be able to reflect on how they have been blessed by others through the church. I have to say that LovingtonNaz is a very generous church. I am blessed to minister with so many wonderful, talented, and giving people. But I also hope that we will become an even more generous church and a blessing to so many others as we spread the good news of Jesus in our neighborhood.

I echo the prayer Paul prays for the church in Philippi:

“That your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ–to the glory and praise of God.” Philippians 1:9-11

This morning was See You at the Pole. I’ve participated in these once a year prayer gatherings for many years as a student, a youth pastor, and now a lead pastor.

These are good things. Prayer is always important. Waking up early and eating donuts and coffee is fun (well not really, ha except the coffee part!).

The gathering spot is always at the school flag pole, unless it rains right before and it is moved indoors. At this prayer meeting the stars and stripes becomes the central focus and the prayers of the people are centered around praying for our country. I get it. I do believe we should pray for our country and our leaders. But the whole thing gets off track when we think being a Christian is equated with being an American. I love being an American. I do enjoy our freedoms and I’m sure I take them for granted all the time.

But this freedom is not the same as our freedom in Christ. When we start comparing the blood of American soldiers with the blood of Jesus, we are entering really dangerous waters.

When I read the Gospels, Jesus teachings and sermons, and the letters from Paul, I don’t find anywhere that we should create national borders and pray for God’s blessings over against those of other nations and people who disagree with us. I can’t help but think about Jesus’ command to love our enemies and pray for those who hate us.

This is not the prayer that I head this morning @ See you at the Pole.

I also can’t help but think about the prayer from Blind Bartimaeus who hears Jesus and shouts, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” After people rebuke him, he shouts even louder, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Jesus asks what he wants. The blind man says, “Rabbi, I want to see!”

“Go,” said Jesus, “Your faith has healed you.” He receives his sight and followed Jesus. (Mark 10:47-52)

I used to worship America right along side Jesus. I loved singing patriotic songs in church. It was all very emotional. As I’ve gotten older and really studied the Gospels and as I have become a pastor, I continue to pray, “Lord, Jesus Christ, have mercy on me, a sinner.” I have received new sight and I now can see that God isn’t contained in the American government and military system. Violence is not what our faith is about. Not at all!

God does love Americans…and Brazilians, and Koreans, and Syrians, and Christians, and Jews, and yes even Muslims. God loves the whole world. John 3:16

Honestly, I was pretty sad about the prayers I heard this morning. But this isn’t a post of condemnation. I used to pray the same things. This is a challenge for those of us in the American church to put our faith in Jesus Christ, and not the U.S. government. This is a reminder that Jesus is Lord and Caesar or the President is not. The United States will not be around forever. This is O.K. But the Kingdom of God will last forever.

“Lord, Jesus Christ, Son of the Living God, have mercy on me, a Sinner!”

Here is the sermon I gave yesterday @LovingtonNaz. It wasn’t so much a sermon as a story I told from the perspective of one of Jesus’ disciples. It starts with Jesus’ first sermon on the mount and ends with his final sermon with the sheep and the goats.

It’s not exactly the same as the recording, but you can listen to it here.

Crowds were gathering together. As they were gathering, they began to ask each other, “have you seen the things this guy has done?” More and more were arriving at this mountain, all wanting to catch a glimpse of something miraculous. The one they were all there to see, stood up and started to teach. He began by saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.”

The list went on. He kept saying these strange things. They didn’t quite make sense. Did he just say people are blessed when they are persecuted and made fun of?

Then he started talking about the 10 Commandments. He wasn’t just listing them in order, it seemed like he was redefining them in a whole new way.

I looked around from my seat right behind Jesus and everyone’s eyes were fixed on him as he stood on the side of this mountain preaching and it was things we had never heard or imagined before. Things like, “You’ve heard that it was said to the people long ago, ‘You shall not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment, ‘But I tell you that anyone who is angry with a brother or sister will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to a brother or sister, ‘Raca’ is answerable to the court. And anyone who says, ‘you fool!’ will be in danger of the fire of hell. He’s talking about judgment, eternal life and eternal separation with God!

At this point we couldn’t believe our ears. But he didn’t stop. He flipped all the commandments upside down, these laws of Moses that everyone knew so well. He gave them new meaning and it was as if we were Moses on mount Sinai being given the commandments by God himself in the form of our rabbi Jesus. He spoke with such authority .

He went on, teaching about prayer, giving, judging others, being a true disciple, and what God’s kingdom looks like.

By the end of his teaching, we were speechless. We didn’t know what to do next. As things quieted down, the crowds dispersed and many people went back to their homes. Being one of the 12 that Jesus chose specifically to follow him, we stood up and literally walked behind Jesus as we traveled to the next place. But there were quite a few that began following us as well. I could hear some say, “This man was either crazy or somehow the God of the universe was living and speaking through him.” I couldn’t wait to see what happened next.

——————-

We went from town to town and Jesus continued to preach this message that God’s kingdom was coming. And it was happening right before us! People were being healed from their diseases. Dead people were being brought back to life! At this point the crowd grew even more! I remember being shocked when one of the teachers of the law came to Jesus at one point and said, “I’ll follow you wherever you go.” The lawyers were a group of people not too fond of Jesus’ teachings especially since he was redefining all of their laws. Jesus response was confusing to say the least, He said to this lawyer,

“Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

Everyone was confused. What did he mean by this? Was he saying that following him meant we weren’t going to have a placed called home and no bed and no place to sleep? And then he calls himself the SON OF MAN! WOAH! This was getting real. Did he really just say, “I’m the Lord of all creation?!”

The answer to that question came soon enough as we left that place; we climbed into our boat and were out to sea. Suddenly a furious storm arose, waves were crashing into the boat. We were terrified. Then we look over and Jesus is sleeping! We woke him up and started shouting SAVE US LORD, We’re going to drown! Calmly Jesus replied, “oh you of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then all of a sudden Jesus walks to the front of the boat and he speaks.

He speaks to the storm; the waves settled down and it was completely calm!

All 12 of us were stunned. We had never seen anything like this. And it didn’t stop. More people were being healed. The next day Jesus healed a paralyzed man–forgiving him his sins and telling him to walk. The Pharisees were furious with Jesus. But he continued to teach and preach that the Kingdom of God was near! It was near alright. The God of the universe was working through this man; this man who called us friend and brother! We had seen it all.

—————-

And then it all changed for us disciples. We were good at following Jesus and watching him do HIS thing. But then he invited us to something that none of us thought we were ready for. He calls us to do the very same things he had been doing. He was giving us [His] authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every kind of disease and sickness! All 12 of us, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, Phillip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, James, Thaddaeus, Simon and Judas. Honestly We were scared to death to attempt to say to a dead person “come to life!” and tell lame people from birth to stand up and walk. What if it didn’t happen!? And then it got even more scary as Jesus sends us off with no money, no food, nothing but the clothes we had on our backs. He told us to go from home to home and preach this kingdom message. He warned us that some people would welcome us in and some people would reject us. But he said not to worry.

How were we not to worry? We had seen how the Pharisees and teachers of the law treated Jesus. They wanted him dead! And this was about to be us as well! He warned us that we would be put in prison because of this message. People would hate us and spit in our faces, but “DON’T BE AFRAID!” He said. You will be doing the will of my father in heaven! By the end of it, we were so pumped and filled with courage that we were ready for whatever came our way. We would follow this man into the face of death! Then The last thing he said before we were sent off, was this:

“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of you little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.”

And at that we were sent off on mission as Jesus’ little ones, his disciples to continue this kingdom work that Jesus began and to tell the good news of Jesus!

We went from town to town, telling others about our teacher and teaching others this same message that God’s Kingdom was coming near. And we did it, God was now working through us to heal the sick and causing the lame to walk. God’s kingdom was breaking in.

We would meet back up with Jesus and he would continue teaching us and all who would listen. He would tell us stories that had familiar elements. He would compare this kingdom of God to things like farming, mustard seeds and hidden treasures, yeast and fishing nets. There were always two kinds of people In these stories. Ones who received it and lived their life accordingly and ones who rejected it. I never understood how people could reject his teachings and his way of life, not least of all because Jesus always talked about severe judgment to them. It was always an image of the fiery trash heap outside of town that we all knew about. He said those who rejected God’s Kingdom would be thrown into the trash pile that was always on fire. The people around it were always weeping and gnashing their teeth as they witnessed indescribable things there.

We went on. Jesus continued to teach and show us God’s kingdom. He would continue to amaze and perform these unbelievable miracles. Twice he fed thousands of people with a couple loaves of bread and a few fish. The food just kept coming and we kept passing it around — THOUSANDS – hungry, thousands fed and satisfied.

We were participating in this kingdom that Jesus was announcing. We were witnessing a kingdom coming. And we all had our ideas of what the kingdom might look like. and we were getting a little ansi. I remember a couple of us asking him, “So who’s the greatest in this kingdom of heaven?” His response was unforgettable.

He called a Little child over; put him right in the middle of us and said,

“Unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. and whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If anyone causes one of these little ones — those who believe in me — to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Words of severe judgment again. This put us in place.

Jesus was being talked about all over. Everyone else, like us, was wondering if Jesus would be the next King to conquer the Romans and be a powerful nation again. The elitist groups were worried as well and were starting to despise him more as they were losing influence to this lowly rabbi, this son of a carpenter. The Sadducees and the Pharisees both wanted to get rid of him. They just were not sure how yet.

And then we got to Jerusalem. It was a little strange–He asked us to get a donkey for him to ride into the city. We did, and as he rode in, people were throwing their coats down in front of him shouting “Hosanna to the SON OF DAVID, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! HOSANNA in the highest heaven.”

This was it! it was really happening. We thought Jesus was going to be King and take over the whole place and we were going to be right beside him! He went straight to the Temple, the House of God and began to teach.

The Pharisees and Sadducees were growing more and more in hate towards him. But Jesus kept teaching, kept telling Kingdom stories and healing people and condemning these Pharisees and teachers of the law as hypocrites.

This man had no fear!

And he continued speaking about a coming judgment, and what was soon to happen when the SON OF MAN comes in all of his glory. It was all so mysterious. He already referred to himself as the SON OF MAN. And now he’s talking about the SON OF MAN coming back.

It did seem like something was about to happen to Jesus. I couldn’t imagine this going on for too much longer. The tension was indescribable.

We leave Jerusalem all of us wondering.

A few days later we find ourselves among hundreds of people.

For the last time Jesus speaks to crowds gathered around him:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you have me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

Then the righteous will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invited you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

The king will reply, ‘truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these my brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Then he will say to those on his left, ‘depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’

The also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’

He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.’

“Whatever you did to the least of these my brothers and sisters, you did for me.” I heard these words and I thought about the last couple years of following Jesus and kept replaying all the events and teachings and miracles in my head. Jesus always referred to us as his brothers and sisters. He kept talking about us as little ones and he kept reminding us and challenging us to continue the kingdom work he showed us. I remember having nothing and traveling from town to town with only the clothes on my back, some days we didn’t even have shirts as they were ripped from us from being beaten. I remember not having any money for food and some people would provide for us. I remember one of the disciples being thrown in jail and we would go and visit them and tell them stories of what Jesus was doing that day.

I remember so many people welcoming us in to their homes and showing us incredible hospitality. They gave us something to eat and drink. These people were not only providing for our physical needs but they were accepting this message of the kingdom that we were talking about and people’s lives were being transformed repenting of their sins.

It was all coming together.

To be continued !

I do invite you to stick around after the service to continue the conversation, to discuss this text further and to ask questions.

Like most families, the laundry never ends in our house. Luckily for me, I have the best wife in the world. She does most of the sorting, the loading and unloading the washing machine and dryer, and also the dirty work of getting stains out of our clothes (mostly the kids). My job is to fold all the clothes. I don’t mind this most of the time. I usually listen to one of the many podcasts I subscribe to. It makes it somewhat enjoyable.

A few months ago, I was listening to a podcast while folding clothes and the guests were the minimalists. I’ve always known I owned way too many hats, shoes, t-shirts, and other items, but it wasn’t THAT bad, I thought. I’ve never been a hoarder by any means. I actually love throwing stuff away. But as I got done folding all of our clothes and attempted to put JUST my t-shirts away, I could barely fit them into my second drawer of my dresser. It was then I decided to minimize my belongings. A couple months ago I got rid of over 100 items of clothing, shoes, hats, suits, pants, and shorts. It felt really good.

Fast forward to a couple days ago and I had the same problem. WHAT!? I have a drawer full of t-shirts and I could barely fit them all in. Where did they all come from! My attempts at becoming a minimalist seemed to have waned. As I sit here at my kitchen table and I look around my big comfy house, I have to confess that we own way too many things. Things I don’t really need. I look over at our brown leather couch that started peeling a few weeks ago and I think about how we are in the process of replacing it. We’ve found a really nice couch from the furniture store. In fact we almost purchased it! ALMOST! Furniture is expensive! But honestly the couch we have now is not broken. It’s actually really comfortable. We could use this many more weeks and even years. Yet we feel the need to get something better.

There’s a girl in our youth group that has been coming for just under a year. She has been such a blessing to our entire church in many ways. She’s not afraid to take risks, to ask difficult questions and to dream for a world that is better than it currently is. Just yesterday, she texted me, “hey, I have an idea.” I love ideas. I’m an idea man. I had no idea what she was going to say, but I was excited to hear it.

“What if to raise awareness of how truly blessed we are to have electricity, we (church or just youth) went on a fast from it? We take it as an everyday thing that’s just here, but it is truly a blessings to have. Some people don’t have anything.”

YES! This is it! This is why I have loved being a youth pastor. Young people are awesome! I didn’t really know how to respond. I had a couple practical questions for her, but I was all-in! This is exactly what I am aspiring to do in becoming a minimalist and a teenage girl in my youth group is leading the way. It’s saying, “we have so much.” It’s asking, “what can I eliminate?” I’m excited to see what this will look like exactly, what she has in mind, and what kinds of things I can do to be a resource for her.

I’ve begun this minimalism way of life. It’s really the way Jesus lived and calls us to live. I have a long way to go, but my aspirations are still high. Thanks Zoe for reminding me and helping lead your pastor in the ways of Jesus.

This past Sunday I stepped into a new role in my current church. For the past 4 years I have served as the youth pastor and worship leader @LovingtonNaz. Today — I sit in my really low sitting thrift store office chair as the lead pastor of the same church. WHAT!? When I really think deeply about the whole process, it is truly unbelievable. 4 years ago I never could have imagined living in New Mexico. I told pastor Jaron “NO” at least three times before coming to interview and visit. But he was persistent. The Holy Spirit was definitely speaking through him and Lovington is where God was having us go. A few months ago Jaron spoke to me again. He had received a call from a far away land, New Zealand, to become missionary/pastors. Once it was clear that this was where God was leading the Graham’s, the conversations started quickly about what was going to happen here in Lovington.

It was close to 4 months ago that I had a pretty good idea that I would transition into being the next lead pastor. Over those 4 months a lot of things happened during the craziness of the summer schedule. We had a family trip back home to Kansas, VBS, District Assembly, #NYC15 in Louisville, teen camp @Bonita Park, a month of city league softball, and the beginning of a new school year. I’ve had a lot of time to reflect, dream, and think about what it will be like to step into this new role.

I’m a thinker. I’m kind of a dreamer. I love to come up with ideas. I’m not so much of a doer or implementer. It has been easy to think and dream about what being a lead pastor will be like.

It’s kind of like how Rachelle and I have thought about getting a dog for many years. We love the idea of owning a dog (English Bulldog or Great Dane!) But then reality sets in and we realize we would have to take care of this dog which is a lot of work. Someday…

…Someday is now! (not for the dog) The time has come. I am the lead pastor! It’s going to be a lot of work. The thinking and dreaming will continue for sure, but now it’s time to do it! There are people to care for and minister to and with! I’m sure things will get messy. But I know this is a beautiful calling. I’ve built relationships with these same people for 4 years already and this is a blessing. Most new pastors are not this fortunate. I’m sure there will be times of loneliness now that Jaron and Elizabeth won’t be sharing the same office, but I know that God is right here in the midst of it all. I trust that God will be faithful as we walk into this calling.

The time has come. I can’t wait to see what happens over the next 4 months and 4 years!

Pastor Aaron

To hear the 3 part sermon from this past “Transition Sunday” you can click here.